The Best You Could Have Done
by xxwhatevxx
Summary: A spur-of-the-moment fic. Bella is giving birth to Edward's child in Florida, after being brought away when she discovers her pregnancy. Alice sees her, and the Cullens arrive in time to meet the new baby, and Bella does a selfless thing for Jasper.
1. The Best You Have Done

My hair was stuck to my face with sweat and I could concentrate on nothing but the pain. My mother was gripping my hand supportively but I wanted to badly to shake her off. It wasn't her that was supposed to be here. I wanted Edward. He was the only one that should be here, holding my hand and wiping my forehead. I squirmed under my mother's touch, annoyingly body temperature. I wanted his cool skin pressed against mine. I didn't want her hand on my head. She was the reason I was here, doing this, without him. It was all I could do to force her to let me keep the baby. Had she not plucked me out of Forks the minute this was discovered, he would be here, by my side, keeping me cool.

"Just one more push, Ms Swan," the doctor said. I groaned and screamed as I struggled to do what he said. It should be Carlisle. If anybody at all should be here, birthing my child, it should be Carlisle. I could hear his calming voice, _"You're doing very well, Bella, just another push now…"_ Carlisle's voice echoed in my head and that gave me the encouragement. As my mother's hands reached my shoulders, I screamed loudly, feeling the tears flow freely down my face. And then there was a strange feeling, an emptiness, and somewhere in the heaven of the room, a baby's wails joined mine.

I wanted to collapse, lay back, but I propped myself up even farther, desperation filling me as my baby was handed to a curly-haired woman by the bedside, who took the little bundle away.

"What…where's my baby going? What are you doing?"

"We're jut going to make the baby look pretty for you, Ms Swan," the doctor said, smiling at me. This infuriated me. I was not a child. I did not want a pretty doll. I wanted my baby.

"I don't care what the baby looks like!" I said desperately, but the curly-haired nurse was now walking towards me with a bundle wrapped in a yellow blanket. My breath caught in my throat.

"It's a boy," the nurse said, and I propped myself up father, ignoring the pain, and outstretched my arms. I received my baby, my son, who had weighed almost eight pounds by my calculation, and I gently peeled back the yellow blanket to see what my baby's face was like. A tear slid down my face.

"He's a handsome little boy." The nurse smiled sweetly at me.

"He is," I said. My voice was not above a whisper, and it was hoarse. "Thank you." I turned my attention to the doctor, who was drying his hands. "Thank you so, so much." _Carlisle._

"You're welcome. He's a fine little boy. What's he going to be called?" The doctor, fat and dark, looked nothing like Carlisle, but his smile was just as genuine as Carlisle's would have been, and I trusted him.

"Not Edward." My mother said into my ear, and I looked up at her, shaking my head.

"Mom…he's Edward's son, too."

My Mother sighed, brushing my lank hair back from my sweaty face and looking down at her grandson. "It's time to get Edward out of your life, Isabella."

Isabella.

I hadn't been called that by my mother in years.

So it was time for cunning.

I looked down at my baby. The few wisps of hair on his head were dark and damp, but those that had started to dry were turning out to be a lovely shade of copper. His eyes were a dark blue, but they were darkening as we spoke.

"Probably he will have your eyes." The nurse says kindly. "They look like your eyes - same shape."

I couldn't understand why they were still here, talking to me. Perhaps it was just that Edward wasn't here - maybe they pitied me. Maybe my mother had told them that I didn't have anyone. No, that wasn't what she would have said. She thought I had her. I didn't want her.

"Maybe," I breathed, remembering to respond to the nurse. "I'm going to call him Jasper."

"Jasper?" My mother demanded. "That's Doctor Cullen's other son. No way. I'm sorry."

"You're not sorry," my voice was tranquil. "I just had to suffer childbirth without my son's father. He is my son, Mom. I have the right to give him whatever name I want. If you were sorry, Edward would have been here."

"Jasper Swan." The doctor smiled, trying to break up what had the potential to escalate into an argument. "Have you decided on a middle name?"

"No, no…not Jasper Swan. Jasper Cullen." I said it as a reflex - no way on earth was the baby not having Edward's name.

"No, no way -" My mother began, but the doctor's voice cut her off.

"That's very nice." He said. "And have you decided on a middle name?"

"Carlisle." I said quickly - that much had been decided long before the birth.

"Jasper Carlisle," the nurse hummed. "Very nice. Very unusual. Where did you find those names?"

"Carlisle and Jasper are the father and brother of the boy who defiled my daughter." My mom interrupted, fuming. I shot her a filthy look and turned to the nurse myself.

"Carlisle is like a second father to me, and Jasper is one of my best friends, and they are family to the man I wanted to marry." I said.

Then the door burst open, and he was there, like a God. Beads from the rain outside were still in his hair and I heard a distant shout of, "Sir! I can't permit you to go in there!" But his golden eyes were fixed on me and on the bundle that I was holding tightly to my chest.

"Bella," his mesmerising, musical voice was low and rough, evidently he was holding back the emotions I'd been trying to control for the last eight months, since we last met. The look in his eyes said it all, but his lips parted slowly and he spoke the words solely for my mother's benefit, and for that of all those present.

"Please forgive me, Bella."

My breath caught slowly in my throat and I nodded.

The Doctor spoke quickly. "Nurse Evans, Mrs Dwyer…can I ask you to accompany to the lounge to inform the grandfather and step-grandfather of the successful birth?"

"No," My mother said, not budging. Nurse Evans had already left.

"Phil and Charlie will want to know." I said. I saw Edward's lips move - a message not meant for human ears. My mother nodded submissively and left the room.

Evidently Jasper was in the vicinity.

Edward edged closer, and then backed away again. "If you don't want me to come any closer I'd under stand."

"Get your ass over here, Edward Cullen." I rolled my eyes and he moved forward tentatively.

His eyes were bouncing back and forth, from my eyes to Jasper, my baby son, who was lying peacefully in my arms.

"Believe me…if I had known…If I had had any idea…" The words seemed to be caught in his throat.

"I know," I whispered, placing a kiss on his stone lips.

Edward looked down at the miracle in my arms, and I could see that he was speechless. I realised that the room must smell like me.

"Is this…difficult for you?" I whispered.

Edward shook his head, unable to speak. He reached out with a finger and traced Jasper's nose, as if checking to see if he was real. Jasper apparently passed the test, and a smile broke out on Edward's beautiful face as he swiftly moved onto one knee beside my bed, bringing himself at eye level with Jasper.

"What have you named him?" Edward asked, his voice at a whisper. He looked up at me, and it took me a moment to find my voice.

"Jasper."

Edward smiled again, and nodded as he moved his finger slowly around Jasper's tiny face. "Thank you. He'll like that. It'll be a nice surprise." Edward stood again to plant a kiss on my lips, the only taste I'd craved for over seven months. "Jasper Swan." Edward mused, looking back down at his son, my son, our son, again.

"No," I said, smiling. His eyes, very dark, flashed up to mine. Confusion riddled his face. "Jasper Cullen. Jasper Carlisle Cullen."

Edward smiled very widely, kissing me again. "You're going to make Carlisle and Jasper very happy."

I nodded, smiling. I could feel tears in my eyes. "I hope that I do."

A while later, when I had been moved out of the theatre and into a separate room, Alice and Jasper entered quietly. Alice had been in earlier in the day, but had not ruined the surprise for Jasper. We had asked her to bring Jasper in, although he didn't want to come for fear of what he might do.

"Please tell him that I trust him. I want him to meet his nephew." Alice had agreed to ask him, and Rosalie and Emmett had already been, so Jasper was the last, apart from Carlisle and Esme, who were on their way back from Volterra. Edward nodded to me and handed me his son, my son, our son, wanting me to tell Jasper, who looked very shy and scared. I could tell that he was concerned about his self-control. His eyes were very golden, a precaution.

"Jasper," I smiled at him and he smiled back shyly. "Meet your nephew." I pushed back the baby blanket to reveal my son's face. Jasper's face blanked. Edward's concerned frown changed to a smile.

Jasper looked confused. "I…I don't feel anything," he said, more to his feet than us. "Nothing at all. No thirst, no temptation…" his eyes darted up to me, and then to Edward. "Why?"

"Maybe the good Jasper outbalances the bad Jasper," Alice said, rubbing her husband's arm. "Maybe you couldn't hurt your own nephew, a helpless baby? I don't see you doing anything."

"I can feel it. It's clear as a bell." Edward said. "Come a little closer to her, Jasper."

Jasper moved a step or two closer, and shook his head.

"Still nothing," Edward said, for the rest of us without mind-reading abilities.

"Jasper," I said, pulling back the blanket further. "Meet Jasper."

Jasper looked at my face, and then back at the baby, and then at Edward. A smile broke out on his pale face. "Really?" He looked away slowly, scuffing at the floor with his shoes. He looked back up, smiling widely at me. "Thank you, Bella." He said, sincerely.

Edward snaked an arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer. Alice and Jasper left after a few minutes, but Edward did not take his arm away, and as Jasper mewled quietly in my arms, I smiled up at Edward, and he tore his eyes away from Jasper to look at me and bend to kiss me.

"That's the best thing you could have ever done for Jasper," he whispered to me, keeping his eyes closed. I felt his warm breath on my lips and it made me shiver. "You've given him respect for himself, and I don't think any of us can ever thank you enough. And for me..." Edward sighed and opened his eyes, placing a hand on the bundle that was my son, his son, our son. He met my gaze. "Bella, you have given me what I thought I could never have. You've been through so much and...oh, Bella...I love you more than anything in the world. And you, love, are amazing. You have given life." He shook his head. "Bella, I cannot even begin to thank you for this. It's truly the greatest gift anyone could have ever given me. It's the best thing that you could ever have done."

A.N. - It was a quick, thrown-together fic that took me about a half an hour, but I was proud of it so I decided to post it before I started not liking it any more. Please review, it takes five seconds and it would make so much of a difference! If people review and say that they like it, I'll develop it, if people review and say that they don't, I won't. Thanks for reading!


	2. Eternity

_Chapter Two_

_Eternity_

_POV: Jasper Whitlock_

_My mouth was parched. Panic was building up in me. The white walls and bleaching smell of this stupid hospital was making me want to implode. The bleach didn't cover up the blood. I knew that there were probably bags of it somewhere close by. Bags of blood. Oh my God…_

"_Alice," I said quickly, grabbing her arm. Her dark, doe eyes flashed to mine. "Alice, I don't know about this. I'm not sure, I mean. What if I…?" I trailed off, unable to finish. What if I did something? What if I hurt that baby, that poor, innocent child? I could almost see Bella's anguished face…Edward would never come near me again…I would be totally dejected by my entire family, not just as a killer, but one who had murdered a child in cold blood._

_My wife reached out and touched my arm, laying her head on my shoulder. "Jasper…they trust you. They want you. You won't do anything."_

_I took a deep breath and followed Alice down the corridor to the room where they had taken Bella after the birth. Alice gently pushed open the door and walked in before me, a wide smile on her face as she danced to Edward's side to look over at the baby, a blue bundle in Bella's arms. I closed the door after me and moved to the other side of the room, beside the window. There was a wealth of emotions in the room - emotions that Edward and Bella had had to protect themselves against for the last nine months, the emotions that they were facing here and now as they looked into their son's eyes, Alice's happiness at the fact that she was an aunt, and most of all, an overwhelming peace as Edward and Bella looked at their baby, a mixture of each of them, and something that they could both love so much._

_And I could take that away from them._

_The happy coincidence was that I had been hunting the day before. If there was any time that I was less thirsty, it was now. And yet…_

_I shook those horrible thoughts out of my head._

"_Jasper," Bella called my name and I looked up into her warm, trusting eyes. That trust made me feel better about myself, if not confident. I smiled back sadly. Bella tilted the bundle, oh, so slightly, and moved the blue knit away from the baby's face so that I could see. "Meet your nephew."_

_I braced myself for the onslaught of temptation._

_There wasn't any._

_The little baby stank of blood, but the smell didn't appeal to me in the slightest. Alice had told me a hundred times that she couldn't think I could harm an innocent baby. I hadn't believed her, but now I knew that it would be alright._

_I looked over at Edward. A calm smile was spread on my older brother's face. "I…I don't feel anything," I looked back down at my shoes. My confusion was irritating me. "Nothing at all. No thirst, no temptation…" I looked over at Bella, whose kind face was now intrigued. Then I looked over at Edward, who looked relieved. "Why?"_

_Alice skipped over to my side, rubbing my arm as a comforting gesture. She smiled up at me. "Maybe the good Jasper outweighs the bad Jasper," she smiled. "Maybe you couldn't hurt your own nephew, a helpless baby? I don't see you doing anything."_

"_I can feel it. It's clear as a bell." Edward said, nodding to what Alice had said. "Come a little closer to her, Jasper."_

_I moved a step closer, then another. Then I stopped, cautiously poking around in my head to see what I felt. I felt nothing._

"_Still nothing," Edward clarified for the others in the room._

"_Jasper," Bella commanded my attention, and I looked politely at her, ducking my head like the Southerner I was. "Meet Jasper."_

_At first I thought she had mixed up her words. I looked from her, to Edward, to the baby, and I was still confused. I looked again at the baby. The few tufts of hair he had were wild and curly, and they had a shocking bronze tint to them. His eyes, drooping with sleep, were a deep, dark blue, like the ocean at night, and they were the same shape as Bella's. Then I saw Bella's smile, so trusting and warm, and I knew that she had been serious._

"_Really?" I could feel a smile stretch out on my face. I looked down at my feet, embarrassed. I probably would have been blushing, if I could. I scuffed at the cheap linoleum. In one moment, a snap decision, Bella had named her child, her son, and she had opted to name him after __me_. It felt as if she had given me back something I had lost long ago - so tired of being the weakest link, I was now someone after whom a woman may name her child, a figure of respect - the kind of person I'd wanted to be in my first life, and the kind of person I was now. I looked back up at Edward's Bella and felt a rush of gratitude - my own.

"Thank you, Bella."

Edward pulled Bella a little closer and I felt that it was time for them to be alone. I signified for Alice and I to leave, and we did, leaving them alone - Edward, Bella and baby Jasper, who was named after me.

POV: Carlisle Cullen

Esme's phone had rang in the middle of a long talk with Aro concerning Bella. We had gone to Volterra to discuss with him the fact that she had disappeared, vanished into thin air, and what we were going to do about it. Edward had not wanted us to go, and that was putting it lightly. But the fact remained that Edward could have been anywhere in the world, and we needed the Volterra to help us find her and bring her back to Washington safely.

Esme apologised to Aro for her rudeness, and was about to switch it off when Aro raised his hand. "No, no, please," he smiled at her, a genuine smile. "We cannot have you missing out on small-town gossip."

So Esme answered the phone. She greeted Alice, and after a few moments of stunned silence, she began to speak in low, rapid tones. Aro and I exchanged changes before our gazes became, once more, fixed on Esme.

"Yes. Yes, of course, we will leave right away." She said, and she hung up the phone.

"What is it that troubles Alice?" Aro asked. "Is it so bad that you have to leave so suddenly?"

"They've found Bella." Esme said, replacing her phone in her purse. "She was in Florida this whole time, with her mother. Apparently her parents took her away from Forks so she wouldn't be with Edward."

"Where is Bella now?" I asked. Aro's gaze shifted from myself to Esme as if we were actors in a mildly interesting soap opera.

"In a hospital in Florida." Esme rose from her seat, and I did the same.

"Hospital?" I asked, concerned. "What's wrong with her?"

Esme's hands flailed. "Alice…Alice had a vision of her for the first time in months. She was in labour."

"Bella's pregnant?"

"Well, not any more. She's had the baby."

"She was unfaithful to Edward?" Aro gasped. I fought back a groan. Were Aro human, he would be one of those people who want nothing more than their food and their stories.

"No, no…nobody is quite sure what happened. But the child is Edward's, undeniably. Alice says that he's the image of him."

"He?" I asked, smiling.

"Yes," Esme said, pulling on her coat. Aro stood, rubbing his long, spidery fingertips together absentmindedly as he listened intently. "Bella gave birth to a baby boy, apparently…I would have asked his name, but I forgot…Alice says he's healthy, albeit premature by just a couple of weeks."

"Oh," Aro smiled. "Marcus! Caius! Come and listen! Bella's had a baby, isn't that lovely? A nice little addition to the Cullen clan!"

He turned to me. "I understand that you have to leave, but you will come soon, and bring us a nice little picture, won't you?"

"Of course," I said, grateful I had not been asked to bring the real baby as a snack, like one might bring a dessert to a dinner party.

We left swiftly, catching the first available plane. You need not be bored with the details of the long plane ride.

Thoughts swam in my head as to how Bella could possibly have gotten pregnant by Edward. My only theory was that his venom must have contained some sort of DNA, perhaps not sperm, but something else, and because Bella was human, her womb was fertile enough to support life. The only difference between her and, say, Rosalie, was that Bella was alive, and able to support life, and feed and nourish a growing child inside of her. However, Emmett's venom would be unable to impregnate Rosalie because she was dead.

I was sure that that was it. It had to be - what other explanation could there possibly be? And I supposed that no other vampire had ever gotten close enough to a human to try this - Edward and Bella were truly unique.

We both ran faster than either of us ever had, and got to the hospital in a matter of twenty minutes of leaving the airport. We went to a waiting room, and found Alice and Jasper there, along with Rosalie, Emmett, Charlie Swan, a woman who must have been Bella's mother and a man I did not know.

"Hello," Esme shook the woman's hand. "I'm Esme Cullen, Edward's adoptive mother. I have to say, your Bella is like another of my children. She truly is one of a kind."

Bella's mother accepted Esme's handshake, and smiled fleetingly at her. "I'm Renee Dwyer and this is my husband Phil."

I was introduced, and shook hands with both of them. I inclined my head to Charlie.

"Chief Swan."

"Doctor Cullen." He said, politely. "Have you seen the baby?"

"No, no, we've just arrived back from Italy. We were visiting with some friends there."

"Oh," Charlie raised an eyebrow in mild interest. "Nice there?"

"Very pleasant, thank you." I said.

"Carlisle!" I heard a voice from behind me, and turned to see Edward, who must have heard my thoughts. He looked happier than I'd seen him in a long while, and the sight of his overjoyed expression made me happy. I could tell that either Esme's heart was going to burst out of happiness, or Esme herself would burst - into song.

"Will you come and see the baby?" Edward asked politely. "Everybody else has. Bella is absolutely dying to see you."

"Oh!" Esme smoothed her hair, giggling happily. "Oh, I love being a grandmother already!" She turned to smile at Renee, who just nodded and grimaced. Mrs Dwyer was, notably, slightly less happy about this step up in ranks.

We followed Edward to Bella's room, where he offered Esme his seat beside Bella. She did not take it, but when Bella offered her the baby to hold, she accepted gracefully, and took the blue bundle from the young mother, who sat back a little further into Edward's arms. Bella lay her head back into Edward's shoulder as they watched Esme smiling at he baby.

"Well done, you two," I said, and Edward and Bella smiled at each other.

"Bella obviously did everything," Edward said. "I didn't help."

"Edward, you have two medical degrees - you should know by now that you did, in fact, help this child, this miracle, to occur."

Bella laughed and linked her fingers with Edward's.

"Oh, children." Esme sighed, "He is absolutely beautiful. He looks just like you, Edward, Alice was right. But look at those eyes, Carlisle. Look, he's got Bella's eyes."

"He has," I said. "Have you decided what to call him?"

"I told Jasper," Bella said, and she nodded at Edward, who smiled down at her before.

"Bella has decided to name our son Jasper Cullen," I smiled at the name - Jasper probably had been overjoyed. But Edward continued. "Jasper Carlisle Cullen."

I looked first at the young couple sitting in the hospital bed, and then at the baby in my wife's arms, and I smiled. "Thank you, you two." I said, feeling my smile broaden. "That means the world to me."

Bella smiled, and Edward simply nodded. "It was Bella's idea," he said, handing the credit over to her. She rolled her eyes and then Esme handed me the baby while she chatted with Bella about childbirth. Edward walked over to me, and I smiled at him as I rocked the baby back and forth to get him to sleep.

"I've got a son, Carlisle." Edward said quietly, and I saw the affection in his eyes as he surveyed the infant in my arms.

"Yes, yes you have."

"It's unimaginable…how much I love him already." Edward whispered. "I never thought it possible that I could love someone as much as I love Bella, but…" He looked away, first towards Bella, then down at his feet, then back at me. "But here he is." A quick, weak smile flashed on Edward's face.

I said nothing, only handed Jasper back into Edward's arms and waited for Esme to finish her conversation with Bella.

We left arm-in-arm, and I was a grandfather. Perhaps not biologically, but in every other way, that child, that tiny baby with the dark eyes and the shot of bronze in his hair, just like his father, was my grandchild, and I was his grandfather, and I would love him for all of eternity.

After all, I had eternity to give.


	3. The History Books Forgot About Us

Chapter Three

The History Books Forgot About Us and the Bible Didn't Mention Us

POV: Renee Dwyer

7 Months Earlier

Jacksonville, Florida

Charlie had brought her to Florida himself, in the truck he bought for her. After threatening to run away from him, Bella was at too big a risk to be allowed by us on a plane by herself. He must have waste tons of gas, but he came here nonetheless.

Phil and Charlie were sitting with Bella at the table, and I was making coffee. Handing a cup to each of the men, I sat with mine before pushing a cup towards my daughter, who had just revealed to us that she was four weeks pregnant. She looked down at the cup, confused.

"Thanks, Mom…but I don't think I can drink this. It's bad for the baby, isn't it?"

"Does it matter?" I shrugged. "You're having an abortion anyway, aren't you?" Charlie groaned, obviously having had this conversation before. Bella looked back up at me, horrified.

"What is _wrong_ with you people? _Kill_ my _baby_?" She looked more disgusted, more hurt, than I had ever seen my daughter. Somewhere deep inside, it hurt to see that she was so upset, but my confusion and anger at the situation at hand more than trumped that.

"Bella, honey, trust me. You don't want to go through pregnancy for a baby you're just going to give up for adoption. You get scars and stretch marks, and…oh, Bella, it's just not worth it if you don't get the reward at the end." I reached over and patted her hand and she looked up at me, shaking her head.

"Mom…I'm - "

"Don't even say it, Bella," I said, angrily. "You are far too young to let this ruin your life."

I saw Bella's eyes blank. "Mom…I'm not even a year younger then you were when you had me." Then I saw the pain again. "I ruined your life, did I?"

"No, no…" I was caught now, well and truly collared. "No, sweetie, but…but I had Charlie. I was a married woman."

Bella sighed and turned to the small rucksack she had brought with her. Delving into it, she pulled out a very small box. A ring box. She slammed it on the table in front of me. I picked it up and looked into it, slowly. The rings on my own finger - I hated to say it - paled in comparison to this sparkling antique. Phil, looking over my shoulder, whistled slowly.

"This…this is from Edward?" I said, my voice hushed and rusty. Bella nodded defiantly.

"He was going to _marry_ me. And I wanted to marry him. He wanted me with him, by his side, _forever." _The way Bella said it made it sound like I couldn't possibly understand. Bella sat back in her chair, pushing the cup of coffee slightly forever. "If you hadn't taken me away, he'd be with me. I'm pretty sure that this would make him happier than anything else ever could."

I shook my head. "Bella, you are too young for this…I love you with all my heart, darling, but…you don't now how much I wish I'd waited a while before I had you."

"Look, this is how it's going to play out. I'm having my baby. I don't care if I have to go back to Forks and beg the Cullens to take me in. I'm having that baby, and I am going to keep it." I broke constancy with Bella's glare and my head sank down into my hands. I heard Bella's chair scrape the floor.

"Fine," She said, and she stood up, grabbing the ring box from the table. She slung her rucksack over her shoulder, and was about to put the box back in, but my daughter paused. She opened the ring box and took out the ring before closing the box with a _snap_. She glared at me as she placed the ring on her finger, a gesture of solidarity and love for Edward, and I hated it. "I'll leave, then." Bella made her way out of the kitchen. "I'll be sure to send you a school photo, Grandma." She added sarcastically, and I heard the front door open.

"Bella!" Phil jumped out of his seat, and jogged out of the kitchen. "Bella, come back and we'll talk…"

Charlie looked at me, and I shrugged. I was trying desperately to hide my panic, but I wasn't sure if I could. Bella, my Isabella, was about to walk out of my house and face life as a single mother - or worse, a young wife with a baby, which was, in my opinion, a cage, and not one that my Bella would be comfortable in.

Phil walked in, pulling Bella gently by the elbow. I was surprised - Phil was very quiet, and this outburst - for him, it had been an outburst - of opinion was unusual. I watched him intently as he sat down and wrapped his hands around his coffee. He indicated Bella's chair and she sank back down into it. "Bella is an adult," he said matter-of-factly, to Charlie and I. "She has the right to make her own decisions. She has the right to decide if she wants to stay here or go back to Forks."

"No," Charlie shook his head. "I'm sorry, Bells, but Edward Cullen is no good for you."

Bella said nothing. Her dose of courage had apparently run out. Tears slid down her face and she just stared blankly at the table.

The conversation went on for most of the night. Phil and Bella lost. Charlie and I won. On some counts. Bella would keep the baby, if she truly wanted, and we, Charlie, Phil and I, would help her.

But she would not see Edward Cullen again.

Bella's sadness was infectious. That night, as Charlie fell asleep in the guest room, and Phil and I tried to sleep, we could almost hear her lying on her bed, dry-eyed and staring at the ceiling, thinking of the bronze-haired boy who had been so devoted to her every time I'd met him.

Our breathing was the only noise in the otherwise silent house.

POV: Alice Brandon-Whitlock

After Bella goes into labour in Florida

Forks, Washington

It had been so long since I'd seen Bella that I had long since stopped trying. I was lying on the sofa, held tightly in Jasper's arms, when it hit me like a ton of bricks. A red-faced, sweaty Bella, a doctor, a nurse, her mother…a baby.

My first instinct was to be angry. Bella had just disappeared, left my brother broken-hearted, because she had been knocked up by some other fool. But then my thoughts concentrated on the baby she was being handed, and I saw Edward's nose.

That baby was Edward's, there was no doubt about it. The child, being wrapped in a blue blanket, was the living image of my older brother. I turned to Jasper with a smile on my face. His eyebrows pulled closer together, and he smirked at my smug expression. "What's the story, morning glory?" I smiled wider.

"I just saw Bella," I said, very satisfied with myself. Jasper's eyes got wider. "What? Where?"

The door to the room we were in was nearly shot off its hinges. Edward appeared in the doorframe, panic and ecstasy written on his features. "You saw her?" He said quietly.

Bella had disappeared about seven months ago. Charlie avoided Edward's questions, although he was almost never at home, and all of Bella's things were gone. She had completely disappeared from my sight, and not even Jacob Black knew where she was - Edward had been monitoring his thoughts constantly. She had very literally disappeared into thin air, and Edward was a nervous wreck because of it. He missed her more than anything, and it took all of our combine efforts to stop him going to Volterra. In fact, Carlisle and Esme had gone last week, and were still there, to discuss what was to be done about the situation. Edward had _not _been happy, and that was putting it very, very, _very _mildly.

My brother was now right beside me, looking into my eyes imploringly, his hands gripping my shoulders. "Alice, please…tell me, I have to know."

"Jacksonville - in hospital."

Edward's relief turned to concern. "Hospital? Why?"

He saw for himself.

His eyebrows creased and he moved backwards slowly, collapsing on the chair opposite the sofa. I saw the hurt and betrayal written across his face. I reached out and grabbed his hand.

"Edward, that child is the image of you. That's your baby."

"No, Alice," Edward moaned into his hands. "You know that's impossible."

"Is it, though?" I said, standing up. "Come on, we're going to go to Florida."

Jasper jumped up, but looked at me doubtfully. "A little…_sunny_ there, don't you think?"

"Nah," I said. I went to the door and out to the hallway, where I let out an ear-shattering shriek, "_Rosalie! Emmett! We're going on vacation!_"

Rose's intrigued head poked out from behind the library door. "What?" She asked, eyebrows creasing over her flawless face. "What are you talking about?"

I smirked. "We've found Bella."

From my side, Edward emerged from the living room, looking as if he had been dosed with some manner of illegal substance.

"What did you inhale?" Emmett guffawed, coming out of another room. Then his expression turned to concern. "Eddie boy - what's wrong?"

Edward looked at him with wide eyes, obviously not aware that he was being spoken to. Then he just left, going at top speed to his room, where he was, undoubtedly, finding something to give to Bella.

"Edward's still learning to cope with fatherhood," I smirked. Rose's, Emmett's and Jasper's faces blanked.

"That's impossible." Rosalie said at once, but I knew that she was happy for him, as well as being insanely jealous.

I laughed. "Come on, I'll explain on the way. Rose, Emmett, you take the M3, and Edward can ride with Jasper and I in the Porsche…there's no way that Volvo is keeping pace with the speed Edward will want."

Everybody scattered, grabbing what small things they might need, cell phones ect., and I pocketed a roll of bills from my stock market and gambling earnings (seeing the future is quite handy all-round). Edward came back first, donning a jacket.

We got to Florida in a little under five hours - half the time it would have taken, or so Rosalie's laptop internet connection told us, had we made the journey at a safe (i.e. legal) speed. Edward knew where she would be, and the rest of us crowded into the waiting room while he sped down the corridor, truly looking like a movie star in his rush.

I took up an issue of _Your Faith Today_ and began to read a very interesting article entitled, _The evils of modern high school. _I yawned for effect as I turned the page, and Jasper smiled at me. He leant over and kissed my cheek.

"All in a day's work, my heart." He whispered.

A/N: Sorry for the time-jumping thing. There will be a bit of it in this fic. I noticed that I never posted a disclaimer - I own baby Jasper, and that's it. The chapter title is from "Samson" by Regina Spektor, an amazing artist.


	4. Dying 'Cause I Let You

Chapter Four

Dying 'cause I let you

POV: Edward Masen-Cullen

Bella, my Bella, was asleep in my arms again, and everything was the way that it should have been. It was a little different then when we had last been together - the state was different, we were different, everything was different…but seven months had passed since I had seen her, and my affections were all still the same, if not heightened. As she slept in my arms, I looked over at the plastic, hospital crib in which my baby slept.

My baby.

My son, her son…our son.

Jasper Carlisle Cullen - my baby, my son, the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. He had Bella's eyes. Alice and Esme had said that he was like me. I did not see it. I didn't care. He was my son. Bella's son. He was the most precious gift I could have ever been given, and Bella had been the giver. That made him all the more special to me.

Kissing Bella's cheek lightly, I rose from the hospital bed and moved over to where my son slept, keeping a cautious eye on Bella the whole time. Jasper blinked, and he began to mewl. Before he woke Bella, I picked him up, loving his warm weight. His skin was lovingly smooth - he was very pale, like Bella and myself. He had my hair, the bronze hair I had inherited from my mother.

My mother and father - would that they were here, would they approve of this? Their vampire son, fathering a human baby, with a girl that he could kill any moment? Would they approve of Bella? Would they like her?

Her parents hated me. I could see it in their eyes. I had done this to her - made her suffer so, so much, and it killed me. But then I looked at Jasper and I wondered if it had been worth it.

But I wished I was there. Seven whole months where I could have been with her, and I never was. I had made her suffer this, and she had done it alone. Esme had told us that it was the worst pain imaginable, indescribable, impossible to comprehend unless you had done it. And she had done that because of me, but without me there.

Jasper's eyes, darkening by the second, batted open.

"Hello," I said. Would I could cry, I was sure I would have been wiping tears away roughly. This was the first time I had properly been able to hold my son since his birth. Just looking at him made me smile. "Well, I suppose we haven't been formally introduced. My name is Edward and I'll be your father for the rest of your life." I smiled at my own stupidity now - I was talking to a baby who did not understand me. Or maybe he did. I was not in the mood to try and read the mind of a child who was not a day old.

Carlisle had been thinking about whether this miracle of ours would be a human child. I wasn't sure myself. I didn't want to think about it. I was too blissfully happy to think about condemning my child, my baby, to such a life.

I heard a shuffle and turned. Bella was slowly propping herself up, wincing.

"Here," I said, moving forward swiftly, and propping up a pillow behind her. She smiled gratefully and allowed herself to be helped. I moved to sit up beside her, and she extended her arms for Jasper. I handed him over, and she held him tight to her breast, smiling down at him. It took me a moment to register that tears were falling from Bella's face.

"Bella," I stroked her cheek, turning her head to face me. "Bella, love, what's wrong?"

She bit her bottom lip, tears still streaming down her face. "It's too perfect," She said. "Me. Sitting here with you and Jasper. And he's healthy, and you're here and you believe me when I say he's yours and you still want me and you want to be a father to him and…it's too perfect."

"Evidently you kept some of the hormones back for me to enjoy," I titled her head to kiss her lips. "Bella, love, I will _always _want you. And I believe you, one hundred per cent, that he is my son. And yes, he is healthy, and he is beautiful…and things are perfect. And that's a good thing." I kissed her lightly on the neck, and then under her earlobe. "Bella," I whispered to her. "We've had more than our fair share of imperfect."

I felt her tears on my neck. When I pulled back, her face was ashamed. "I almost lost him," she said, blinking back the impending monsoon (and failing).

"What?" I said, feeling my eyebrows crease as I edged a little closer to her.

"I tried to…I couldn't…couldn't face doing it alone. Without you. So…"

Would that I had blood, it would have run cold. I could feel horror spelling itself out on my face.

So I had come so close.

I had come so close to not having Bella, not having Jasper, and not having realised it.

"And then…" Bella continued, sniffing. "I couldn't…couldn't go through with it, and then, when they brought me to hospital, they told me that there was a chance that he was gone. The pills I took could have killed him, but…they didn't."

Horrified, I clutched her tightly to me, taking great care not to squash Jasper between us.

"Oh, Bella, love," I said, and it was all I could say.

By not being there, I had almost ended her life, and that of an innocent baby. "What can I ever do to make it up to you?" I said, unable to think of anything more creative. The room was silent for a moment.

"Marry me," she finally said. I looked down at her, smiling.

"What?"

"I want to now." She said. "I don't care what they think any more. August 13th has come and gone, but still - marry me and they can never take me away from you again." Her voice was pleading. I wasn't sure if it was the post-natal fear, but whatever it was, I would take it.

"Bella," she looked up at me, her eyes full of tears and expectations. "Let's hope that this is third time lucky. Will you finally be my wife?"

"Yes," she barely breathed.

POV: Doctor S. Williams

Jacksonville, Florida

Four Months Earlier

Some minor-leaguer bought in his daughter-in-law, a plump, pale girl with chestnut-hair. She seemed nothing like the blonde, feather-headed woman who followed them both in, her mascara flooding down her cheeks.

"Isabella Swan, nineteen years old, overdose of pills, she says she threw them up."

"Why'd she do it?" I asked the nurse who had handed me the chart.

"She's three months pregnant. They don't let her see the father any more."

I nodded, sucking the inside of my cheek. After running my tests, I visited the teenager in her room.

"Isabella?" I asked. She looked up, apparently miserable.

"Bella." She corrected. Her mother, seated beside her bed, gripped her hand.

"Okay, Bella, you'll have to stay for a couple of days, but _you_ should be fine…but here's the hard part…Bella," I moved closer, to sit on the end of her bed. "Can I be frank with you here?"

The girl nodded, breathless.

"Bella…there's a very strong chance that the baby won't make it. It's still very young and your attempt put it under a lot of stress. I assure you that we're going to absolutely everything we can - but it may not work."

Bella nodded, her head down. Her hair fell into her face like a dark curtain, cutting her off from the rest of the world. She lay back down, blinking back tears.

Her mother cleared her throat. "Well…that's good then. This might all be over soon, Bells."

My eyes darted to the older woman. I was truly appalled that she could say such a thing about her grandchild. Bella didn't seem surprised.

"Is there…" Bella swallowed. "Is there anything that I can do?"

I shook my head. "Not really. Just get lots of rest, try and lie down, don't let anything…" my eyes slid in her mother's direction, "stress you out. Okay?"

The teenager nodded and began to stroke her slightly rounded stomach with her right hand. She closed her eyes and tears poured down her cheeks.

"If you'd like to come with me, and fill out some papers." I said to Bella's mother, and she nodded and I allowed her to leave the room before closing the door out after myself.

As I turned to close the door, I saw words form on Bella's lips, but silently, as if she was whispering them to herself.

_Oh, Edward._

Yes, I'm pretty sure that's what it was that she said.


	5. This is What I Need, Please

Chapter Five

This is what I need, Please

Eight Months Earlier

Forks, Washington

POV Bella Swan

'_Bella, are you alright?' It was the first thing he said. His eyes, so beautifully golden, were full of concern as he looked down at me. Unable to speak, I kissed him to reassure him. My breath was quick and my skin was hot and flushed. Edward, as always, looked calm and collected, and very, very concerned. His face relaxed when I broke the kiss._

_I nodded, thinking that he maybe needed to hear it to believe it. "Yes, yes, I'm fine. I'm wonderful. I'm proud of you." I whispered into Edward's ears, while my heart slowly began to beat again. He lay down beside me, winding his arms around me and pulling me to him. I lay my head on his cold chest, feeling it rise and fall along with his cold, unnecessary breaths. Putting two fingers under my chin, he titled up my head and kissed me, very gently, on the lips._

"_I love you," He said quietly, looking me right in the eye. It sounded as if he was trying to prove it to me. He tore his eyes - that beautiful colour - away from mine, and he lay there, as still as a statue, his pale face beautiful, his marble body pressed against mine._

"_I love you, too," I whispered back to him, and I just let him hold me._

Four Weeks Later

I didn't have the heart for cereal. The thought of milk made me feel ill, and the small, cardboard-ish squares held no appeal. I was feeling so sick, but I didn't want to pass out, so I grabbed a couple of crackers, which I ate with a heavy heart. I slung my jacket over my shoulder as I locked the deadbolt on Charlie's front door. I made my way slowly to the door of my truck. I threw in my shoulder bag and paused to put on my jacket. After living in Forks for a while, you get to learn to predict the weather - if it isn't raining, it's about to rain. I climbed in and slammed the door shut behind me, sliding the key into the ignition, only to jerk it out again and clamp my hand to my mouth. I scrambled to open the door, and ran into the back yard, deciding that there wasn't enough time to unlock the deadbolt.

The back yard was not extremely well-kept, but when the mood stuck him, Charlie sometimes attacked the trees and bushes out there with a hedge-trimmer. It had been a while since he had been in the mood, and so the bushes were tall and unruly. I rushed behind one and retched.

When I finished, I straightened up and leaned against the back wall of Charlie's house. I really, truly hated vomiting. It ranked among the top five worst feelings in the world, in my good opinion. I hadn't exactly contemplated what the others might be, but vomiting was right up there with them.

I could feel the little beads of sweat on my forehead rolling down my face. Or, no, I couldn't. It was the rain. I rubbed my stomach to soothe what felt like a little fire burning in there. I groaned. No way in hell was I going to school. Leaning my head against the wall, I closed my eyes and willed the tears to stop oozing out of them.

I slowly trudged back to the truck, grabbing my bag, keys and jacket, before going back up to the house and opening the lock.

I dragged my things to my room before collapsing on the bed. Edward would probably call later - Alice would have seen this.

I stripped off my sweatshirt and lay in my t-shirt. The house was absolutely freezing, but I was flushed all over, and boiling hot. I fanned my face with my hand, and after a few moments I was cold again.

I'm ashamed that it took me about an hour before I realised.

Reassured that my sickness had passed, I jumped out of bed and grabbed my keys and jacket, rushing downstairs and out to the truck. Miraculously, I did not trip once.

The drugstore in Forks was, like everything, just off the highway. I didn't really care if they recognised me in there - if my suspicions were correct, then what did it matter? People would soon know, anyway.

I extracted a bill from my pocket and handed it to the woman at the counter, who surveyed my purchase suspiciously. I narrowed my eyes at the nosy old cow, and left the store, jumping into my truck and speeding, as fast as my truck would go, back home.

I spent a moment at the kitchen table reading the instructions. I sort of knew the drill already, but just in case I read it wrong or something, I decided to read it, just in case.

It was a pretty straightforward procedure. Pee on the stick, wait patiently, look at the stick, laugh/cry (tick as appropriate).

Well, yeah, I made that last one up.

Tapping my fingertips together nervously, I realised that it was time to look. Entering the bathroom, I made my way over to the cistern of the toilet, where I'd left the darn thing, and I groaned.

I collapsed on the ground, shaking. I pulled my knees up to my body, and then the sobs came. I sobbed until I fell asleep.

Charlie found me then, when he came home, on the bathroom for with an ungodly omen in my hands and tearstained cheeks. His eyebrows knotted together and he just nodded. He extended a hand and pulled me up, before wrapping a hand around my shoulders and leading me out. He told me to go and wait in the truck, and we'd go for a drive and talk things over. He said he'd drive.

Dopey and sleepy, I did. I didn't notice him throw the bag into the back.

By the time I realised where we were going, it was too late, and I was already crying.

POV: Charlie Swan

When Renee handed me the books to read and announced she was pregnant, it didn't say anything about what to do nineteen years later when a stupid, hormonal boy knocks up your daughter. It was all I could do not to U-turn on the road and go and put my gun to that Cullen boy.

Preferably put it to a place where, if the bullet did its job, he would never defile my Bella again.

But Bella was there, sitting in the passenger seat of the truck I had given her, tearstained and exhausted. I didn't bother asking why she wasn't in school - I didn't particularly care.

"I could shoot him, you know, if he forced himself on you. If you want me to." I said, in all seriousness.

"No, thanks. I had just as much a part in it as Edward did." Bella said serenely.

"Are you scared, Bells?" I asked, frowning.

"Yes." She said, and then she looked around her. "Dad…where are we going?"

I didn't answer. She did. "You're taking me away from him."

I just nodded, staring straight ahead, one hand on the steering wheel. I wanted to clap Bella's hand with the other, and tell her I was sorry, but that I couldn't let her stay with him. I knew she'd pull her hand out from under mine, so I just let it hang loosely by my side.

(A/N If anybody is confused about anything in the storyline, please tell me and I'll remember to include it in future chapters. The chapter title belongs to "My Heart" by Paramore)


	6. Tenacity

Chapter Six

Tenacity

POV: Rosalie McCarty-Hale

Bella had been moved to a different room after the birth of the baby, and when Alice came back she came and put a hand on my shoulder. "They said they'd like it if you came," she said. She glanced fleetingly at me. "Though…they'll understand if it makes you uncomfortable, Rose,"

I shook my head, flashing a genuine smile at Emmett and Alice. "I'd like to see them."

Emmett's eyebrows raised, obviously sure I was lying. But I wasn't. The long drive to Florida had given me time to think.

"Are you sure you won't be jealous, Rose?" Emmett said, rubbing my back lightly.

"Why on earth would she be jealous?" Bella's mother snapped. "Jealous of my daughter whose life has been ruined?"

We were all silent. Jasper leaned in to Renee. "Unfortunately, our sister is unable to have children,"

Renee began to apologise, embarrassed, but I just shook my head. "It's fine, you couldn't have known."

I stood and followed Emmett to the room where I knew Bella would be, holding her newborn.

A son.

Emmett entered first, and then held the door for me. I came in and saw Bella sitting up in bed, looking exhausted yet happy, clutching a blue bundle to her chest. Edward was half-sitting on the bed, leaning on his elbow against the metal headrest of the bed, staring contentedly at his baby boy. When they heard us enter, they looked up and smiled both. Bella looked a little sad, and she had obviously been crying a lot today. I perched on a seat beside Bella's bedside. "Oh…oh, he's absolutely beautiful, Bella."

Bella's anxious face broke out into a beam. Had she been anxious of my reaction? Had everybody? I clasped my hands to my mouth, and then crossed them over my heart in pure silly-sighing-girl fashion.

"He's a stunner," Emmett clapped a hand on Edward's shoulder. Edward smiled and nodded.

"May…may I hold him?" I asked, shyly, and it was very rare for me to be shy. Bella nodded enthusiastically, and I held out my arms for the bundle to be transferred.

He was even more beautiful then Vera's Henry. His nose was the exact same as Edward's, and he had Bella's eyes for certain. He was very pale, but that was to be expected when you looked at his parents. I noticed some shadows around his eyes, and looked up, curious.

"We don't know." Edward said plainly, reading my thoughts. "We won't know for a while if he's human."

"What have you called him?" I asked, gently poking the little dear's nose with my index finger. He blinked at me and I smiled down at him. I knew then that if I could not have children, I would devote my entire being to making sure that my little nephew - who would surely be more than spoilt by Alice, Jasper, Emmett and myself, as well as Edward and Bella - was always happy.

"Jasper Carlisle Cullen," Bella said, and I sighed.

"It suits him." I said. "Does it hurt much, Bella? As much as people say?"

Bella groaned. "_Much_ worse. It's just hours of pure agony."

I shuddered, and looked back down at Jasper. "It must be worth it, though. Or people wouldn't do it."

"It's worth it." Bella agreed. Edward perched down beside her, putting an arm around her shoulders.

"Happy, Ed?" Emmett asked cheerfully. Edward nodded, smirking.

"Blissfully so, thank you." He stroked Bella's cheek and she smiled at his touch.

Baby Jasper had fallen asleep in my arms.

"Emmett," Edward smiled. "Come with me for a walk." They went, leaving Bella and I alone together with Jasper.

"He's so beautiful, Bella." I said. "I mean that - he's truly the most gorgeous thing I've ever seen."

Bella blushed. "Thank you." There was a moment of silence. "Rosalie?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry if…any of this…has caused you any hurt, I mean - "

I held up a hand to silence her. "Bella - I know what my family thinks of me. I'm Rosalie - selfish and vain. But when you were gone, I realised how truly terrible I'd treated you, and I'm very, deeply sorry for it. The old, tenacious Rosalie would have been very jealous. But the way I'm going to see it is that you've given us a gift - the gift of a baby, the gift of life, and I for one am very grateful. If I can't be a mother, Bella, I will be the best aunt that Jasper has ever had - if you're okay with that."

Bella smiled. "There's nothing I'd like more."

I smiled back at her. "Alice, watch out," I mumbled. "The heat is on."

Bella laughed out loud and then I began to giggle.

We were still laughing when the boys returned.

POV: Alice Brandon-Whitlock

Edward called me in to see Bella just after they moved her. She was clutching the most beautiful baby boy I'd ever seen, and I'd seen a few - after all, I was almost a hundred and seven, just a few months younger than Edward. Technically.

He was passed over into my hands for a few minutes, and if I could cry, I would have been. His little face was a carbon copy of Edward's, with Bella's eyes photo-shopped.

"He is so adorable. Honestly. Bella, seriously, I'm being very honest with you, he is absolutely and totally beautiful."

"Thank you, Alice." Bella smiled at me, but she was half asleep. Edward smiled and helped her to lie down. He covered her with a comforter as well as the thin hospital sheet, and, although she attempted to keep up conversation, her eyes were soon drooping, and she was asleep within five minutes.

I transferred the baby back into the plastic cot - a horrible excuse for a crib. I wondered fleetingly if Bella had bought a crib. I would ask her tomorrow morning - I would also have to ask Esme about throwing her an impromptu post-pregnancy baby shower. I was sure that Esme would be up for the idea.

I saw Edward rolling his eyes at my thoughts.

"Oh, shut up," I said cheerily. I surveyed Bella's hands, up beside her sleeping face, and I smiled even wider. "Edward, look! She's wearing your ring."

Edward moved over to my side of the bed to look at Bella's hands, and a smile broke out on his face. The ring was fastened onto Bella's finger, as if it was a defiant gesture. It was sparking magnificently, even in the artificial light of the hospital room.

I don't believe I ever had, or ever will, see Edward happier.

At least, not that I can see.


End file.
